A Designer's Dream
by HeyItzRare
Summary: An intro creator from Leanbox is just minding his own business when he finds out about something...well, mildly interesting: an intro contest from none other than 5pb! Question is: What happens?
1. The Introduction

**Hey hey, FanFiction! It's everyone's (least) favorite writer, AwesomeEevee (now HeyItzRare)! After sitting on this account (for some reason), I decided now would be a good time to remaster an old story: A Designer's Dream. (Because what could go wrong, right?!)**

**Since the original's release, I've made a few tweaks to help the story...****_work._**

** \- Increased the length of chapters. I'd rather take longer to put out one better, longer chapter than to machine-gun half-finished sentences. I...sorta made two chapters in like one day?  
\- Tweaked the flow of the story so it makes sense. Instead of being some rando who makes an intro for 5pb in like 10 seconds, I had 5pb do something more...well, 5pb-y. More on that in Chapter 2.  
\- Modified my self-insert to be less of a dumb Gary Stu who keeps getting his way. I kid you not: My original self-insert was so excited because he had the chance to meet 5pb. He then notes he might not qualify...but he renders his intro anyways while STILL saying there's "no way he'll qualify." And then I called THAT a "cliffhanger." Pathetic...  
\- Created more characters. Yes, everyone's favorite Matsui Rika will be returning, but the big question is ****_when?_**** ...well, even I don't know. Sorry.**

**Anyways, with that, it's time to kick things off! Enjoy the first chapter of the remaster! ^^**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - The Introduction**

_[Rare's POV]_

Sitting at my desk, I put the finishing touches on an intro commission. _Now to render it… Should I do it myself, or use Sheep It? Do I even have enough points to __use_ _Sheep It?_ People always seem to think intro designers scream at their computers to render faster, when in reality, we scream at ourselves for not getting fast enough hardware. It's kinda weird.

In the end, I decided to render it myself. I figured it'd be much easier to fix a problem if one decided to manifest. And so, after:

\- Setting the render path,  
\- Doing a final check on the render settings,  
\- Rendering a test frame to make sure everything was working properly,  
\- Closing all other open programs,  
\- Double-checking all settings in case I missed something, and  
\- Saving my work (in case the software decided to crash)…

I pressed the magic button combo to start rendering. Instantly, all of the tension I'd held in was released in the form of a long, satisfying sigh of relief.

=Rare: "Aaaahhhhhhhhh… Man, it's so satisfying to finish an intro! I don't know why!"

After a few moments, I got up, grabbed my laptop, and went on a walk through Leanbox. People noticed me walking down the sidewalk, but it was mostly just stares. Not the creepy kind, just the "hey, someone popular" stares. I really don't mind them, honestly. A few people came up and said hello, and we had some nice conversations. Just a typical day where I'm waiting for an intro to finish rendering, taking a walk, etc. Well, until a girl with blonde hair showed up.

=Girl: "H-hey! *huff* You're…you're Rare, right? RareDZN?"

She seemed to be out of breath, as she ran full-speed up to me. _I really hope she's alright._

=Rare: "Yep, that's me! How can I help?"

=Girl: "Have you heard? 5pb's holding an intro contest!"

=Rare: "Uh…yeah? What about it?"

=Girl: "Are you entering? *huff* I think you'd win!"

=Rare: "I'm not really sure. Tens of thousands of designers enter, and a lot of them are way better than me. I probably wouldn't make it past the qualifiers."

=Girl: "Oh, come on! You're, like, the best intro maker in all of Leanbox! You could win without even trying!"

=Rare: "Again, I'm not sure. Unless 5pb personally invites me to the contest, I probably won't join. Sorry."

=Girl: "Oh…well, that's a shame. You probably would've won…"

=Rare: "Well…maybe. You might be right, who knows?"

=Girl: "…you're right, but there's only one way to find out!"

=Rare: "Yeah!"

=Girl: "Well, I'd better get going. See you around!~"

=Rare: "See ya!"

With that, the girl walks off. _Hm…what if 5pb does invite me to the contest? Well, then I'd have no reason to NOT join! _As I continue to walk, my stomach decides it's time for lunch. But…that's when I realized: I left my money in my apartment! I stuff my laptop back in my bag (so I didn't drop it), and rush back to pick it up.

* * *

**And with that, Chapter 1 of the remaster is done! If you have praise/criticism that'll help me get better at writing, feel free to leave a review. You can read the original (terrible) version on my profile.**

**If you'd like to submit a character for use in any of my stories, I have an OC submission portal (finally). You can fill that out on my profile.  
**

**(Note: If you submitted an OC to me in the past, I may contact you to see if you'd like me to add them to the new database. Watch for that PM!)**

**DO NOT USE A REVIEW TO SUBMIT CHARACTERS! THAT SUBMISSION METHOD IS CLOSED.**

**Anyways, thank you so much for reading! ❤**


	2. The Invitation

**Here we go again! You might've noticed this story is heavily dialogue-based. I'm a bit of a sucker for people chatting, so that's why you see characters interacting so much.**

**Anyways, I decided that Chapter 3 (THE NEXT ONE) is going to be when Matsui finally arrives on the scene! She's gonna be WAY different though, so stay tuned for that.**

**I've got something to say after the chapter, though. Enjoy!**

* * *

[5pb's POV]

After seeing some of the entries for the competition (which were…okay, I guess), I knew I'd need to start sending out invitations. And that's when I was introduced to Rare! In someone else's entry, they noted their inspiration came from "raredzn." Interested, I took a look, and his intros were…well, surprisingly great!

The animation was smooth, the transformations made sense, and his effects were pretty good. Nothing too special there. But his usage of alpha was absolutely the shining component of everything he made. Now sure, his intros weren't mind-shatteringly amazing, but they were, at the very least, really good. That being said, I decided to personally invite him to the contest!

…unfortunately, he wasn't around! I could hear his PC whirring away in his apartment building, but every time I knocked on the door, I got no response. But I was dedicated! Rare seems like the perfect next entrant, so I'll do everything I can to get him to join! I knock yet again, even though I know I probably won't get any response out of it. Eventually, the reality sets in, and I sigh in despair.

=5pb: "He probably isn't around…"

I turn to leave, but as I reach the elevator, I see someone running towards an apartment door…the same door I was knocking on! _It's him! It's actually him!_ I squeal to myself, waiting for a moment before running back and knocking again. This time, the door opens, revealing a boy. Probably around my age, too! He opens his mouth to speak, but recognizes me before he can even get a word out. He blushes a little bit.

=Boy: "Um…hi! How can I help?"

=5pb: "Hi! You're Rare, right? RareDZN?"

=Boy: "Yeah, what's up?"

His blush brightens just a bit more, and I can't help but smile. _How is he THIS cute?!_

=5pb: "Great, you're just the guy I wanna see! Can I come in?"

=Rare: "…eh, why not. Come on in!"

I smile, walking in. His apartment was very nicely-kept, which really appeals to me (sadly, a lot of people don't keep up with their homes). There wasn't much of note, except for his PC near the corner, rendering what looked to be an intro. I peered over at it, mesmerized by the scrolling of the orange tiles, slowly forming an image…

=Rare: "Interested?"

=5pb: "Yes… I've never seen anyone use Blender before. Is it as hard as everyone says it is?"

=Rare: "People actually say it's hard? They should see Cinema 4D, that's practically IMPOSSIBLE to learn!"

=5pb: "RIGHT?!"

Sure, I didn't know much about the inner workings of intros (because I don't make them), but I gave that software a shot. It was DREADFUL.

=Rare: "Blender's got a pretty steep learning curve, mostly because of those keyboard shortcuts. But once you get the hang of them, it's actually surprisingly easy to figure out."

=5pb: "I see… Well, I've got to ask you something."

=Rare: "Oh! Can I take a guess?"

=5pb: "Uh…sure!"

He takes in a deep breath before saying…

=Rare: "You came to my apartment to personally invite me to your big intro contest because you think my intros are halfway decent, but there were far too many low-quality submissions this year, so you decided to go out and invite people you thought were a good fit for the contest, right?"

I don't know whether or not to feel like he read my mind, or he's got some connection with the plot, but…whatever! That's what I was gonna say! I wait for him to catch his breath before continuing.

=5pb: "…well, do you wanna?"

=Rare: "I promised someone that I probably wouldn't join unless you personally invited me, so…I don't see why not!"

I squeal happily. _SUCCESS!_

=5pb: "Okay, okay, I-I'll email you some info to prepare for the contest. I'll cover travel, lodging, dining, entertainment, the whole nine yards. A-after all, this is a big contest!"

He chuckles sweetly, patting my head.

=Rare: "You really prepared for this, huh? Hey, don't worry about little ol' me, I can-"

=5pb: "N-no! I…have to. It's the least I could do for all of these people."

=Rare: "…you're really thoughtful, you know that?"

=5pb: "I am? T-thanks!"

=Rare: "No problem! …hey, are you open to getting lunch with me?"

_Free food? My favorite!_ I smile brightly, nodding.

=5pb: "Sure, sounds great! Wanna head out now?"

=Rare: "Sure! I'll take you to my favorite restaurant, if that's alright with you."

=5pb: "Sounds like a plan! Lead the way, my intro-making compadre!"

With that, we exit his apartment and head off towards…wherever his favorite place is. Ah well, this might be my chance to get closer to him! _Hopefully, he'll catch on…_

* * *

**Aaaaaaaand that's a wrap! At the time of writing, I haven't even started Chapter 3 yet, but MAN is this story looking promising to future me! ...other than the long dialogue.**

**Before I get back to that, however, I'd like to take a second to talk about my Quotev account. On there, I write another fanfic called "CUBIX: project duality." The reason it's there, and not here, is due to my chapter posting strategy being far different. Instead of posting chapters as soon as they're ready, I use a buffer.**

****I can work on the story without any rush, since the chapter I post isn't necessarily the latest one to be finished; rather, I have at least 2 chapters ready at any given point.** Whenever I feel it's time to post a new chapter, I simply post one and move the buffer forward. It's definitely a lot less stressful.**

**If you'd like to read it, simply search for "cubix project duality" and click the first result. Anyways, thanks for reading this story!**


End file.
